Tuesday, September 28, 2010

In addition to driving nearly 10,000 miles, attending three weddings, visiting countless family members, and braving multiple theme parks, we did something else this summer that I am finally allowed to talk about.....

...drum roll, please...

...we filmed a couple of specials for TV! (Did I mention that this summer was CRAZY?!)

I am excited to announce that our special, called "Texas Quints" will air Monday, October 11th at on TLC. Here in Austin it will air at 9 pm. In Phoenix, it airs at 8 pm, so check your local listings. There will be two half-hour episodes that will air back-to-back. Here are the descriptions from the TLC website:

Episode 1: Birthday MadnessThe Wilkinson's plan a party to celebrate the Quints' third birthday but bad weather could put a damper on everything. The Quints go wild when Jayson tries babysitting solo. Rachelle fears her cake and Jayson's petting zoo could both be major disasters.

Episode 2: Road TrippingA road trip to grandma's house tests everyone's patience. Rachelle has a close scrape in the van and Jayson accidentally leaves her stranded at the salon with the cranky Quints. Later, the rest of the family finds out how much they can take.

We are anxious to watch the shows and see how everything came together! It was a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) doing the filming. Overall it was a great experience...one that created a lot of fun memories for our family.

My mom (aka "Mimi") was here during the middle of September. With extra help around, I decided it would be a great time to take the quints in for their overdue 3-year check-up! Our pediatricians office is really great---they always schedule half the kids with one doctor and the other half with another doctor so that I can take all five at the same time and be in and out of there as fast as possible! Now that the quints are older, they only go for annual check-ups, so it had been over a year since we last invaded the Doctor's office. Going there totally brought back flashbacks of the early days, when I had to take several helpers and we would all parade into the office with five baby carriers and diaper bags to boot. Now that the quints are older, things are much easier. My mom and I were able to handle things with just the two of us.

All the quints "passed" their check-up with flying colors. All five are perfectly healthy, normal three-year-olds. All are developing right on schedule and have no major medical issues! What a miracle they are----we are so blessed!!!

Kyndall, Kassidy and Kaydence---the kids all had to wear gowns for their check-up. The girls thought they were so much fun---like playing dress-up.

Rustin and Ryder, on the other hand, started ripping theirs off the second we got them on!

The visit ended with three rounds of SHOTS! Not the quints favorite part of the day. They were all upset and crying uncontrollably until the nurses brought in the treasure box...

"Can you year me now??" Once they had their toy (they ALL chose toy cell phones) they were happy (though for the rest of the day, every time Kaydence saw her Band-Aid she would start crying again---it was quite a feat to get the Band-Aid's off without her noticing)

Here are the latest stats on each of the quints....All of the kids are on the low end of the height percentiles, but that has nothing to do with them being quints or premature---Riley and Kaiya have always been low on the charts too---keep in mind that I am only 5' 2" tall and Jayson is 5' 7" inches tall, so it isn't in the genetic cards for us to have a basketball team :-)

Name: KassidyAge: 3 going on 30Height: 37 inches (about 40th percentile)Weight: 29 lbs (about 25th percentile)Personality: Kassidy is still the "mother hen" of the group. She likes to be in charge, but isn't always the one that everybody follows. She is probably the most mature of the bunch.

Name: KaydenceAge: 3Height: 34.75 inches (about 5th percentile)Weight: 26 lbs (about 5th percentile)Personality: Kaydence is sweet and easy-going most of the time. She has a soft sweet voice that is hard to say 'no' to. She takes life at her own pace. She is usually the last one at the dinner table. Before starting, I thought she would be the last to finished potty training, however, she has taken over the lead and may be the FIRST!

Name: RustinAge: 3Height: 36 inches (about 15th percentile)Weight: 29 lbs (about 30th percentile)Personality: Rustin is the stereotypical redhead. He is full of mischief, but he can also be a big cuddle-bug. He gets easily excited about things, and has great facial expressions. He is the clown of the bunch.

Name: KyndallAge: 3Height: 34.75 inches (about 5th percentile)Weight: 24 lbs (less than 5th percentile)Personality: Kyndall is a little spitfire. She only likes to do things on her terms. She likes to be the center of attention and is a bit of a party animal. Although Kassidy would like to be in charge, the others usually follow Kyndall instead. She is a little too smart for her own good and is typically the instigator of trouble at our house (though Rustin is usually a willing accomplice).

Name: RyderAge: 3Height: 38 inches (about 55th percentile)Weight: 31 lbs (about 25th percentile)Personality: Ryder could charm the spots off a ladybug when he wants to. He usually oscillates between extremely cute and adorable and extremely high maintenance! He is obsessed with shoes and insists on wearing them the second he wakes up. Of all the quints, he is the most particular.

Also while my mom was here, my dad managed a very brief one day business trip to Austin. We met him at our favorite BBQ place, Rudy's, for dinner one night. Here are some more pictures from the outing:

Saturday, September 25, 2010

I know I have already done several posts about our August road trip, but it was so action packed that I still have more pictures to share. This is the last one, I promise! Looking back at all the pictures, I really can't believe how much we did in two weeks---it was pretty crazy! This has been our summer for roadtrips. And weddings. And theme parks.

Kyndall, Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy and Kaydence with Grandma Wilkinson at the library where she works.

After 9 days in Denver with Jayson's parents, we packed up, said goodbye, and began another loooong drive to Sandpoint, Idaho. My younger brother, Shane, was getting married in Spokane, Washington and my side of the family was having a mini-reunion prior to the wedding. We all stayed at a lakehouse that my parents rented. There are six siblings in my family, three of us married (at least at that point in the week), and eleven total grandkids, so there were a lot of people sharing one house, but it actually turned out great. It was nice to all be together and be able to hang out and talk after all the kids were in bed. Riley and Kaiya loved seeing their cousins, who they rarely get to see.

Riley---the house we stayed at had a little beach outlet and kayaks that the kids could use. They loved it!

Shane (my brother) and Kaiya

The view out the back window of the lakehouse. That area of the country is so beautiful---it almost didn't look real!

The first day of the reunion (which also happened to be my birthday---anyone want to guess how old I am??) we spent at Silverwood Theme Park. After doing Disneyland and another theme park earlier this summer, we figured this one would be a piece of cake--Especially with so many aunts, uncles and grandparent's around to help out. I spent most of the day with the little kids, while Jayson and the older kids went off to do the big coasters. After spending the day at Silverwood, I had a new appreciation for Disneyland----they could really give some lessons to these other theme parks :-) Disney really knows how to keep things moving---although the lines had many more people in them at Disney, we waited in line a lot longer at Silverwood. At Disney it was no problem having a 2-1 ratio of little kids to adults, but at Silverwood, there were several rides that required a 1-1 ratio, which is pretty tricky when you have 7 (my five plus my niece and nephew) kids 3 and under. But, all in all, we had a great time! And, super-hubby Jayson even took the quints home around 7:30 pm and let me stay with my parents and brothers a little longer to ride on some of the big coasters :-)

The whole group at Silverwood Theme Park

Ryder and Kyndall on the airplanes

Rustin and Kaydence on the helicopters

Kassidy on the airplane

BBQ lunch

Waiting in line for one of the rides--Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin, Kaydence, Kassidy and Sadie (another cousin)

Tiare (my sister) with Rustin and Kyndall on the parachute/Ferris wheel ride.

At every theme park we have gone to this summer, the kids have loved the big costumed characters---this one had Garfield. Even though they had no idea who Garfield was, they were still excited to give him a hug!

The stroller brigade!

This was the first time my whole family had been together in over four years, so of course we had to get family pictures taken. Since there was a professional photographer in charge, we didn't take a lot of our own pictures, but Jayson got this shot of Ryder that I really liked.

Day two of the reunion we rented a boat and took turns riding and doing water sports.

Max (cousin), Riley, Kaiya and Jayson

Riley and Max

Tiare and Kaiya

The little kids took a nap during most of the boating time, but they did manage to get a ride at the end.

Of course the highlight of the trip was the wedding. My youngest brother, Shane, married Sam Hiatt in the Spokane Washington LDS Temple. Sam is from Bonner's Ferry, ID, which is about 2 hours away from the temple, so after the ceremony, we drove up to her house for the reception. It was all very beautiful, and I especially loved the dresses that the girls wore.

We were trying to get a picture of my parents (aka Mimi and Papa) with all their grandkids---this is a close up of the quints during one of the shots---I thought it was so funny that they were all doing such different things.

Mimi and Papa with all their Grandkids (the stick-out-your-tongue shot)

The day after the wedding, we got up early and began the long, 2200, 32 hour drive back home. We did the drive over two days and stopped overnight at Jayson's parents house. I had myself all geared up for two days of torture, so I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS FOR DVD PLAYERS!!! Really, I don't know how our parents ever survived road trips!

We arrived home late Sunday night, just in time for Riley and Kaiya to get a few hours of sleep before their first day of school!

Riley and Kaiya on their first day of school---less than 10 hours after arriving home!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Riley: Today we bring you a special update on the PTBC (Potty Training Boot Camp) Quint Olympics!

Kaiya: That's right, Riley! The quints have been at it for three weeks now, it's time give a progress report!

Two-days worth of underwear laundry from the first week of PTBC

Riley: When we last checked in on the quints, almost two weeks ago, Rustin was leading the pack, with Kassidy in second, Ryder and Kaydence tied for third and Kyndall in last place.

Kaiya: I spoke with the quints' mother, earlier today. She said that while improvements are being made, no one is completely "potty trained".

Riley: We'll reveal more from that interview in a minute, but now lets check in on each of the quints!

Kassidy has Potty Power!

Kaiya: Kassidy is doing great and has taken the lead from Rustin! She is consistently putting all her poop and she-she in the potty with only a couple of accidents over the last week. Right now, I would say Kassidy is the one to beat!

Kaydence

Riley: Kaydence deserves the "most improved" award for the past couple of weeks. She has really stepped up her game. She has not had any she-she accidents over the past week, but she is still having a hard time with #2. I think Kassidy better watch her back with Kaydence around!

Rustin

Kaiya: Rustin was an early leader, but has since lost his hold on first place.

Riley: Kaiya, this competition was really his to lose....what happened?

Kaiya: Rustin did fantastic initially, and he still can produce something anytime he sits on the potty, but lately he has started to average 3 accidents per day. It seems he gets caught up in playing and doesn't want to take a potty break.

Kyndall--she LOOKS innocent, doesn't she??

Riley: Kyndall, well, what can we say about Kyndall...she has always liked to march to the beat of her own drummer. In the past two weeks, Kyndall has gone she-she on the potty a total of two times. Right now she is in last place. Her head just isn't in the game, but I'm not going to write her off just yet...I think once SHE decides that she wants to be potty trained, it will happen.

Kaiya: Kyndall hasn't put a lot of poop or she-she in the potty, but I have heard rumors that she has put a lot of other things in the potty...

Dental Floss in the toilet....only slightly less disgusting than finding your toothbrush in there :-)

Ryder

Kaiya: Ryder continues to make steady progress on the potty. He is pretty good with she-she, but has some problems with #2.

Riley: Wow, looks like some definite improvements are being made at the Wilkinson house.

Kaiya: Yes! When I spoke with the Quints' Mom, she said she was pleased with the progress, but hoped the whole thing would be over soon! She said one of the hardest parts of potty training is that it requires a lot of individual attention....that means that when she is focused on one child, the rest like to be off causing TROUBLE!!

Riley: Ooohhh, yeah! I have noticed that when mom is helping a couple of the quints in the bathroom, the others are out pulling all the pillows off the couch or dumping the contents of all the game cupboard on the floor. When Mom is in the kitchen getting lunch ready and some of the quints go to the potty by themselves, they usually end up causing some kind of mischief in the bathroom.

Kassidy and Kyndall found the stash of markers in the bedroom and used them to "decorate"

Fortunately they were dry erase markers and the girls colored on things that could be cleaned!

Kyndall and Kassidy snuck into the closet, found the supply of nicely organized greeting cards, and quickly un-organized them!

Ryder and Rustin found the lipstick!

They both look soooo remorseful for their misdeeds, don't they?? (not!)

Riley: The current standings in the Potty Training Quint Olympics are: Kassidy in first place, Kaydence second place, Ryder third place, Rustin, fourth place and Kyndall a distant 5th place.

Kaiya: We've seen how quickly things can change....it's still any ones game!

Riley: This is Riley for WQ+2.

Kaiya: And this is Kaiya for WQ+2, join us next time for the exciting CONCLUSION (or at least my mom hopes there will be a conclusion) to the Potty Training Boot Camp Quint Olympics!!!!